2 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gardening (Complete Idiots Guide).

1. A friend bought me this book as a joke but I read it and found it very good. I have been a gardener my whole life but it is still a nice read and can teach even the gardener a few new techniques. It has a very nice list of very easy to care for plants great for those that are beginners and afraid of killing everything.



2. I got this book as a birthday present because I like to garden. I read this book over the summer in about one and a half weeks by reading for about an hour each morning. I learned lots of new stuff about all kinds of plants that I didn't know before. The short sections which are only about 4 pages long make this easy to read whenever you need too. This is a great book for all of you gardeners!

No comments about Fragrant Flowers: Simple Secrets for Glorious Gardens -- Indoors and Out: A Garden Style Book.

1 comments about Fuchsias: A Colour Guide.

1. A very useful section on how to grow fuchsias sucessfully precedes the main part of the book which lists accurate descriptions of over 2000 different cultivars. It also has 700 colour photographs to help with identification. A must for every fuchsia enthusiast.

1 comments about The Living Pond: Water Gardens with Fish & Other Creatures.

1. Creating a water garden is yet another way to attune oneself with nature. This water garden concept is actually a pond. Author Helen Nash provides clear basic instructions on how to both build and maintain a pond with live fish, turtles or birds. You no longer have to envy the tranquility of Jane and Henry Fonda's "On Golden Pond" shimmering screen images. You may be inspired to begin building your own pond as soon as you finish reading this book. Ms. Nash has crafted a fine book for those who appreciate the beauty of nature. Leave the tension in the workplace. Come home to the peace and tranquility of a living pond in your very own backyard.

No comments about Trees and Shrubs for Fragrance (The Woody Plant).

5 comments about Wisterias: A Comprehensive Guide.

1. The author is clearly an authority on the vine (or tree or shrub...), but I found the book overflowing with the history of each variety with little information or advice on how to grow. I reviewed the book again today as I went out to prune my wisteria and couldn't even find the work "prune" or "pruning" in the index! It's a beautiful history book with lovely pictures but far from a "how-to" guide, if that's what you're looking for. Perhaps I didn't look closely enough at the book's description before purchasing!



2. don't spend money on this book! Spend it on something else.



3. Peter Valder has done a wonderful service in sorting out the confusion that surrounds wisteria varieties. He has written what appears to be the first book on the genus in a European language. It is a splendid account of both the history and the genus Wisteria the result of much painstaking research. His findings have been have been taken up by the Royal Horticultural Society. The book is beautifully written with superb photographs. I and others regard it as a minor classic. Should be on every gardener's bookshelf along with his more recent magnificent "Garden Plants Of China".



4. As a lay home gardener I found this book to be a bit on the academic side. It seems to be written with Wisteria connoisseurs in mind. However, I did find the Wisteria history to be interesting. And, the pictures are definitely worth taking a look at. The photos showing Wisterias being used in different growing situations was very helpful.
   
   The list of individual Wisterias was helpful to me in selecting a good cultivar for my particular site. After reading the section on care and training, though, I would have to disagree with the author that Wisteria's aren't that much work. To me they appear to be quite a gardening commitment.



5. I know of no other book vailable that is as comprehensive a treatment of wisterias. It is a must for any wisteria lover.

5 comments about Hardy Roses: An Organic Guide to Growing Frost- and Disease-Resistant Varieties.

1. This book inspires cold-climate gardeners to grow roses. The writing is clear and easy to understand and the photos are beautiful. It covers information from where to plant your roses (including a discussion on microclimates) to growing to starting roses from seed and cuttings. It reviews over 100 hardy roses and is written by someone who knows and loves roses. Great for beginners and seasoned rose growers



2. This book is as useful as a reference as it is lovely to look at. Growing roses at my home in USDA hardiness zone 3 limits choices to a few shrubs found at the local garden center, but 'Hardy Roses' provides well-organized lists of additional choices one can find in catalogs. Want a rose that smells divine? Use the charts that indicate the degree of fragrance. Require disease resistant varieties? The lists tell you which ones are easy to keep healthy. Equally valuable are the lists of catalog suppliers, because chances are, these varieties won't be available at the local outlets. Cultural information is here too, but seems slanted toward shrub rose growers rather than us die-hards determined to grow hybrid teas at any cost in impossible conditions. Along with Ortho's 'All About Roses', 'Hardy Roses' is the most-used of my 20 or so books on roses, and is a very good value. I recommend that after you receive it, keep a dust cover on the paperback version so you can carry it around shopping with you without damaging its pretty cover.



3. The author's passion for roses shows on every page. The details on soil, nourishment, planting location, climate are highly valuable. Even creating new roses is covered. The photos and history of every selected plant show lots of devoted research. The listing of Rose nurseries and organizations saves lots of planning time. Love that book.



4. Although the book features 49 roses (large photos, for the most part, and explicit detail), a list of more than 220 varieties with their attributes and information rounds out an extensive guide to growing roses in places with extreme winter weather.
   
   The photos and large explanatory drawings make this reference stand out from others. The photos are large enough to drool over and the drawings actually serve as a teaching tool, rather than simple decoration. Want a visual reference to siting roses in the most favorable microclimate on your property? A nearly half-page drawing and its caption should do it for you. Would you like a clear and authoritative examination of the various pests who might take interest in roses? They are drawn at many times their size and labeled; the accompanying text will help you learn quickly how (and how hard) to fight back. This is an ORGANIC guide, so the recommendations are effective without being terribly dangerous.
   
   The first section of the book, Flowering of a Dream, addresses landscaping, caring for roses (also known as keeping them alive) over winters, nurturing, the dread diseases and creepy crawlers, and propagation. The detail is sufficient without drowning in verbosity people who would be out in the garden. And the writing, itself, compares favorably with other fine garden writing, which makes the reading enjoyable as well as useful.
   
   The second section, The Varieties: Petals of Light, offers photos and detailed assessment of 49 roses, sorted by type. Here is a reality check for the catalogs we all like to peruse. Lists of hardy varieties and additional lists of nurseries, rose organizations, and other sources complete the section. Finally, there is an entirely adequate table of contents and a very thorough index.
   
   Whether you have relocated, as I did, from a more hospitable horticultural climate or whether you are native to the regions of real winter, you will find a treasure of knowledge in this slender volume. Gift suggestion: if you know a gardener moving to a cold zone, treat her to this lovely book. It's the book I wish I'd had when we first arrived.



5. This book is easy reading and interesting enough to keep you turning the pages to learn more. Work with "Mother Nature" and be pleased with the results.

1 comments about Peter Schneider on Roses (Burpee Expert Gardener).

1. This is an excellent book, probably the best of the "Burpee Expert Gardener" series; it consists of Peter Schneider's favorite 400 or so rose cultivars, with many photographs and some broader cultural tips and information on classes of rose. That said, there are larger and more complete lists of roses, and more comprehensive guides to rose care; if Schneider doesn't like it, or if it wasn't in commerce before 1995, you won't find it here. I don't see that as much of a loss, as keeping the book to a manageable heft, and easing the choice of rose varieties, is worth the tradeoff if the editor's judgements are worthy. (Schneider, who boasts of having personally grown 1,400 rose varieties, mostly in Ohio, co-edits the Combined Rose List.)

No comments about Faux Florals in Glass: 30-Plus Unique Arrangements in Clear Vases and Other Glassware.

1 comments about Smith & Hawken: Hands On Gardener: Pruning (Smith & Hawken the Hands-on Gardener).

1. Although this book doesn't cover the most sophisticated aspects of pruning in detail (like grafting), it will give you a firm grasp of the basics, including when to prune, and how to do it. Various general types of trees are treated, like conifers, deciduous trees, fruits, bushes, etc. Simple yet attractive line drawings fill the book and are very helpful.